Who is Ava Vitali on Days of our Lives is the question many fans are asking after Tamara Braun returned to the role in a shocking twist.
The preview video for the hit NBC daytime drama revealed Ava is Philip’s (Jay Kenneth Johnson) partner in crime. She is the mystery woman on the other end of his many phone calls.
It turns out he is indebted to her mob family for some gambling bets that didn’t pan out.
Philip and Ava’s new alliance certainly has fans talking as it was the alliance no one saw coming. Plus, Ava’s return raises so many questions, some of which will hopefully be answered before November sweeps are over.
In the meantime, let’s have a little refresher on the character.
Who is Ava on Days?
The character was first introduced in 2008 as a new villain to wreak havoc on Steve (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans). It was revealed that Ava was a mob princess who had an infatuation with Steve because of their past relationship.
Ava sabotaged the plane that was taking several Salem residents back home from Ireland. The plane crashed, resulting in the death of Brady patriarch, Shawn Brady (Frank Parker).
Soon after the gang was back in Salem, Ava kidnapped Hope (Kristian Alfonso), thinking it was Kayla. Steve managed to find them and learned Ava was being drugged by her father, mob boss Martino Vitali (Joe Penny).
After a brief fling with John (Drake Hogestyn), Ava left town to avoid facing the plane crash charges.
What happened to Ava Vitali on Days of our Lives?
In 2015, Ava snuck back into Salem with a plan of revenge for Steve and Kayla, immediately sucking their son Joey (James Lastovic) into her scheme.
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However, once Ava kidnapped Kayla and forced Steve to sleep with her to free his “Sweetness,” Joey wised up. Steve confessed all of Ava’s crimes to Joey, even the fact Ava had Steve’s child but the baby was dead.
Joey learns that Ava planned to frame Kayla for murder. In a drunken rage, Joey snuck into Ava’s room and allegedly smothered her to death.
The next year, Steve discovered his son with Ava was not dead. Steve found Tripp (Lucas Adams).
They returned to Salem with Tripp set on avenging his mother’s death. Tripp believed it was Kayla, even though Steve took the blame. Eventually, the guilt became too much for Joey, who confessed to killing Ava.
Now, with Ava alive and well, lurking around Salem, fans can’t wait to find out what happened.
It sounds like she faked her own death to avoid facing all of the criminal charges, but of course, there will be more to the story than just that tidbit.
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on NBC.